DAY 1 - IRON: WHAT WE MUST BECOME

 “As Iron sharpens Iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17 NASB)

As a Lead Pastor and a Chaplain, I have felt at times that we embrace our weaknesses as a necessary part of life, rather than allowing them to identify areas in our lives that need work. It seems that we wallow in our weakness and ask others to wallow in theirs. I want to share with you a prophetic word if you are in this position. STOP IT! There is absolutely nothing to admire in a person that allows the challenges of life to trap them in a pit of despair. Jesus has not called you to accept your weaknesses but simply to identify them and allow him to turn them into strengths. In the Army when you exercise and your muscles ache, they tell you it’s just weakness leaving the body. The more you turn your weaknesses into iron, the weakness will leave the body.

IronMaker’s Daily Challenge:  Identify a weakness in your life and pray for God to strengthen you in it.

Prayer:  Lord, I give myself to you and ask that you take my insecurities and weaknesses and turn them into iron for you and your Gospel.

John Branning

Lead Pastor, Central United Methodist Church

Chaplain (MAJ) 185^th Theater Aviation Brigade

DAY 2 - CONDITIONS

“This I command you, that you love one another.” (John 15:17, NASB)

No matter what we do in life there will always be conditions. Even in our leisure activities there are certain guidelines we must follow. Take for example, rock climbing. A friend of mine in Texas has been into rock climbing for many years. One day, as we talked about his hobby, he said that a rock climber has to find the right line up the mountain or cliff. If not then you put yourself at a greater risk of falling. He also uses the assistance of rope and metal holders to reduce the chance of injury.

Just like everything else in life, we need to become familiar with the conditions of our faith. Jesus says that the most important one to realize is love. Love is like finding the right line of our ascent; it is like using ropes and holders so we will not fall. Love is a necessary condition of being a disciple of Jesus. In John’s Gospel, Jesus told his disciples to love one another. Many Christians are missing out on this condition as they try to climb the mountain blindly.  They take no regard to the path they are taking until they get to the point where they are stuck.

Do not get stuck! Don’t risk serious harm to yourself and others around you. Start loving your brothers and sisters.    

IronMaker’s Daily Challenge:  Jesus said to love our Christian brothers and sisters. Search your Bible and find out who else Jesus commanded us to love.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, help me to love those around me today. Help me to love as you have loved me. Amen.  

Dennis Gossett

DAY 3 - TRUST

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)

Trust and communication go hand-in-hand. One’s relationship with another is dependent upon the two – trust and communication - especially when life is difficult.  Well, our scripture comes from Proverbs – a book of wisdom – and we learn to trust in the Lord…lean not on your own understanding.

I believe we gain [each other’s] trust through communication and likewise, with God as well. If we are to continue growing in our faith as followers of Jesus Christ, then we must trust; we must communicate with Jesus daily. When we’re unsure of our paths, we must remember that our relationship with Jesus and others – ones built upon trust and communication – is what will be with us as we walk along the path.

IronMaker’s Daily Challenge:  Think of at least one relationship – whether with Jesus or with others – in which you can work on your communication.

Prayer: Lord Jesus of Nazareth, High Priest of Heaven, thank you for the gift of this new day. I rejoice as your Spirit is with and for us directing my path. Today, I am reminded to trust in You. Amen.

Rev. Jonathan Crabtree

Pastor for Student Ministry

DAY 4 - LOVE

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.” (1 John 4:7-9)

John tells us that God is love. Though I have a difficult time thinking that there is anything that God cannot do, God cannot help but to love. For God to choose to not love would be for God to choose to be other than what he is. If God did not love he would not be love.

We, on the other hand, have the option to love or to hate. John tells us that love comes from God. Hate comes from the other – Satan. He places that option to hate in front of us every day, all day long. He tells us that to hate this or that is only to hate what God hates. But he is wrong every time. God is love. Our choice is clear. We can either love as God loves, or we can hate as Satan hates. It is that simple.

God has shown us how much he loves us. If we choose to accept his love and his gift of eternal life, then we too will love.

IronMaker’s Daily Challenge:  When you are tempted to hate today, remember from whence that hate comes.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, you have shown us your love. Help us to demonstrate your love to all those around us.

Bob Peden

DAY 5 - LOYALTY: WHERE DOES YOUR LOYALTY LIE?

“A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, ‘if you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.’”

This is a hard verse to swallow, but being a follower of Jesus is not easy. From the moment Jesus called his disciples, there was “a cost.” My husband, Jonathan, and I have been watching Turn on AMC. I normally do not like history related topics, but the Turn series has given me insight to the loyalty of George Washington's army. Both sides of the war had a unique loyalty to either Washington or the King of England. No matter the cost, each soldier was loyal to their superior. As a follower of Jesus, we too have to decide where our loyalty lies.

The scripture above says that a large crowd was following Jesus. Jesus confronts the whole crowd with a disturbing action to be his followers. In order to be a follower of Jesus, you had to give up your family. To give up everything in order to follow Jesus means that our relationship with Christ always comes first. It is so easy in our world today to make our relationship with Jesus just like any other relationship. We can be loyal to our families, our spouses, and our children; but being loyal to Jesus will cost us everything. Are we living today as if we are loyal to our King or are we living a loyal life to ourselves, our possessions, our kid’s schedules, our work schedules, our bible studies, etc., more than to Jesus?

Iron Maker’s Daily Challenge:  I challenge you to have a time of reflection over your life. I want you to ponder and wrestle with this last question, what has it cost you to follow Jesus?

Prayer:  Oh Lord, here the cry of our hearts this day. We have heard your word. May it penetrate our hearts to become a person of honor, a loyal follower of you? Forgive us for where we have not been loyal to you. We know that only you can give us strength to get back in the fight and serve you as King in our lives. Amen.

Rev. Kristina Crabtree
Minister of Spiritual Formation

DAY 6 –TRUTH

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this." (Psalm 37:5)

For most of us, if we are honest with ourselves, when we look back on life we see examples of this lack of integrity we called truth, even though we may be considered by most people to be a person they can count on. But we know there are those nooks and crannies in life where the dust collects, where we cut corners, or where it is easier to be silent to truth than to speak it.

Truth, however, is really a duty, in the highest sense. It is something we owe not only to other people, but to God and ourselves as well. When we are truly present to what we say, mean, and do, we reflect Jesus.  Jesus spoke in truth, not always a truth that was popular or easy to hear, but always in love. We know, both from experience and Scripture, keeping our word is at the very core of the Christ-centered life.

Is it always easy? No. Are there often repercussions? Yes.  But at the end of the day, when we walk and speak in truth, there is a peace that comes to us deep within, that is no doubt a peace that only God can bestow.

IronMaker’s Daily Challenge:  Today reflect on those areas in your life where you struggle with truth, either by commission, or by omission. Turn these over to God, and rectify an untruth if you can.

Prayer:  Most Gracious God, help us today to love one another as you have commanded, to turn the dark corners of our lives to you, and to speak the truth in all situations, but always in the love that you showed as you walked this earth.  In your name we pray, AMEN.

Sabrina Williams

DAY 7 - SELF-DISCIPLINE

“I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”

(1 Corinthians 9:27 NLT)

I have noticed that people who demonstrate spiritual strength in the most difficult situations of life are self-disciplined. Self-discipline is a difficult subject for many, because it forces us to implement a plan of action that is not based on feelings. If you base anything in life on feelings rather than a set of values, you will always live your life without stability nor a sense of accomplishment. If we are not careful, our feelings will tell us to give up, quit, and go home. The enemy desires for you to cave to your natural emotions and crumble in the face of defeat. I know that emotions can make the hair stand up on your neck, but discipline will always win the day of battle. As Paul says, we must constantly discipline ourselves so that when others look toward us, they are able to see the strength of Christ.

IronMaker’s Daily Challenge:  I challenge you to pray three times a day for one month. These prayers must include giving God thanks for something, asking for God to grow your faith, and asking God to open the door for you to share his message with others.

Prayer: Lord, create in me a spirit of self-discipline so that I may be prepared to live for you.

John Branning

Lead Pastor, Central United Methodist Church

Chaplain (MAJ) 185^th Theater Aviation Brigade